1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a yarn guiding method and apparatus for a flat knitting machine for holding a yarn supplied to a needle to a predetermined position on the front face or the rear face of the needle.
2. Prior Art
In a flat knitting machine, a sinker is used as means for holding down a loop formed by operation of a needle. A sinker is located between each adjacent ones of a plurality of needles arranged in a row. The sinker operates in response to advancing and retracting movements of associated needles such that, when the needles are at their raised positions, the sinker is at its rearwardly rocked position, and in this condition, a yarn is supplied to the needles and caught by the hooks of the needles by subsequent retracting movements of the needles themselves. Then, after loops are formed by the needles, the sinker is rocked forwardly until it covers over a knock over edge area. Such a sequence of operations as described above is repeated for the needles to knit a fabric.
In the apparatus described above, when a yarn is caught by a needle to which the yarn is supplied first, the yarn continuously supplied from the yarn feeder can be held down by adjacent sinkers as the sinkers are rocked forwardly, and accordingly, the yarn can be knit floating above a large number of needles.
With the apparatus described above, however, if the yarn cannot be caught by a needle to which the yarn is supplied first, the yarn cannot be held down by the succeeding sinkers and consequently cannot be caught by any needle (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. Showa 62-223348). Further, the yarn cannot be guided to the rear faces of the needles.